TheMarquês de Pombal is the name by which Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Portuguese diplomat and prime minister, became known.
He is part of the generation of rulers known as enlightened despots that affected the Kingdom and its colonies.
Biography
Son of Manuel de Carvalho e Ataíde and Teresa Luísa de Mendonça e Mello, he was born in Lisbon, on May 13, 1699. He died in Pombal, on May 8, 1782.
He left the Faculty of Law at the University of Coimbra after a year of studies, entering the military career, where he did not adapt.
He then spent his spare time studying history, politics, and legislation.
He was ambassador to England and Austria. His ascension would take place when, after being called to be minister of King D. José I, he showed his capabilities in planning and rebuilding the city of Lisbon after the earthquake that destroyed it in 1755.
Surprised by the achievement of his reconstruction plan, D. José I called him to be prime minister. Then he received the title of Count of Oeiras in 1759, and finally, that of Marquês de Pombal in 1769.
He advocated absolutism as the best way to govern a nation. In this way, he increasingly centralized the powers in the Bragança family and began to persecute some families of the Portuguese aristocracy, especially the Távoras.
When King Dom José I was attacked, the Marquis of Pombal immediately accused the Távora family of planning and accusing the assassination attempt.
In a quick investigation, the Marquis of Pombal ordered the arrest and execution of some members of the Távora family and the Duke of Aveiro - members of the old nobility.
Thus, he sent a message to the nobles who thought of conspiring against the crown.
Reforms
The Marquis of Pombal shows his achievements in this painting:the reconstruction of Lisbon and the increase in maritime trade. Authors:Louis-Michel van Loo and Claude Joseph Vernet, 1759.
Influenced by the Enlightenment, the government of the Marquis of Pombal was characterized by the so-called Pombaline Reforms .
The Marquis of Pombal strove to make Portugal economically independent from England. This way:
- he created the Companhia para a Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro;
- He created the Companhia Geral das Real Pescas do Reino do Algarve;
- Implemented a new tax collection control;
- Prohibited the enslavement of the Indians;
- Prohibited discrimination against Jewish converts at the time of the Inquisition.
He was concerned with education, I intend to modernize it by creating faculties of medicine and mathematics. Until then, education was the responsibility of the Catholic Church.
Pombaline Reforms in Brazil
In Brazil, the Pombal government brought the following changes:
- Creation of the Companhia do Grão-Pará and Maranhão;
- Creation of the General Company of Pernambuco and Paraíba;
- Definitive extinction of hereditary captaincies;
- Elevation of Brazil to Viceroyalty of Portugal;
- Nomination of Rio de Janeiro as the new capital of the colony – replacing Salvador;
- Expulsion of the Jesuits.
These reforms had a direct impact on the production and control of mining activity in Brazil and would be one of the causes of the Inconfidência Mineira.
Expulsion of the Jesuits
The Marquis of Pombal accused the Jesuits of promoting Indian resistance to Portugal.
Alleging this reason, in 1759 he expelled and confiscated the assets of the Society of Jesus from Brazil, as he had already done in Portugal.
The religious would be expelled from several European countries such as Spain, Parma and the Two Sicilies and France and, later, the order was suppressed by Pope Clement XIV, in 1773.
Read more:Society of Jesus - Jesuit Order.
End of Career
The fall of the Marquis of Pombal began after the death of King D. João I, in 1777, when D. Maria I removed him from power.
The sovereign strips him of all his positions and posthumously rehabilitates the Távora family. Members who had been confined to convents were able to return to civilian life.
D. Maria declares him guilty of several crimes, including embezzlement and abuse of power, for which the penalty was exile.
However, taking into account his age, the queen allows him to remain in her home, where he dies five years later.
Read more:
- Old Regime
- Despotism
- Enlightened Despotism
- Treaty of Meuthen